Chile Colorado
Chile colorado is a simple chili dish made with pork, dried chiles, and a few other simple ingredients that simmer together until the pork is tender. You can make it mild or hot depending on the type of chiles you use, and it’s delicious served over rice or with tortillas.
This chile Colorado is one of my favorite fall and winter recipes. Every time I make it, I love it even more. It’s cozy, flavorful, and perfect for a Sunday simmering session – it has the most wonderful aroma as it cooks.
When I first researched this dish, I learned that some people call it “chili colorado,” some call it “chile colorado,” and some call it “Colorado chili,” mistakenly thinking it’s a type of chili from the state of Colorado when, in fact, it is a type of pork chile from our friends in Mexico. “Colorado” doesn’t refer to the state – it refers to the sauce’s beautiful shade of red.
Now that we’ve cleared that up let me share all the reasons I love this recipe:
- You can adjust the heat level by varying the types of dried chiles you use. I use mild chiles, but you can easily switch up the red chiles to make it spicy.
- There are three main steps: making the sauce, browning the pork, and simmering until the sauce has thickened and the pork is tender.
- It keeps well in the fridge, and the flavor only gets better as it sits. Make a batch on Sunday, pop it in the fridge, and you have a few easy dinners for the week.
- It also keeps well in the freezer! Sometimes, I double or triple the batch and freeze it in containers to have on hand for later.
Ingredients
- Dried red chiles – This recipe uses dried chiles, and there are many varieties. I use mild New Mexico chiles I get at my regular grocery store, but you can opt for hotter ones if you like them spicy. You can also do a combo of chiles.
- Vegetable oil – Or another neutral-flavored cooking oil.
- Pork shoulder – Or you can use pork butt. For a single batch of chile, use a 2-pound pork shoulder.
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Yellow onion
- Garlic cloves
- Dried oregano
- Cumin
- Chicken stock
- Lime juice
- Cilantro
How to Make It
☑️ Soak the Chiles
First, remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles. I do this over a bowl to catch all the mess.
Place the chile pieces in a bowl with water. This will soften them, making them easy to blend. Soak the chiles for at least 30 minutes or until they’re softened.
☑️ Brown the Pork
While the chiles are soaking, I like to prep the pork. I cut the pork into bite-sized pieces. As you slice and cut it into pieces, trim the excess fat and discard it.
In a large pan with tall sides, brown the pork pieces in vegetable oil. Depending on the size of your pan, you will need to do this in a few batches. Once a batch is browned, remove it from the pan and brown the next batch.
Once the pork is browned, return it to the pan and turn the heat to low while you make the sauce.
☑️ Make the Sauce
When you prep and brown the pork, the chiles should be nice and soft. Transfer the softened chiles and one cup of water to a blender.
Add roughly chopped onion, garlic, ground cumin, dried oregano, and salt. Puree until smooth.
☑️ Simmer the Chile
Now that you have your gorgeous red chile sauce, it’s time to pull it all together.
If your sauce contains tiny bits of seeds or unprocessed peppers, it’s a good idea to use a fine-mesh strainer to strain it. I do this right over the pork in the pan. Just press on the puree with a spatula to get it through the strainer.
Add some chicken stock, stir it all together, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a strong simmer and simmer the chile for an hour to an hour and a half or until the pork is tender and the sauce has thickened.
You know it’s ready when the pork is tender and the sauce is glossy and thickened. Right at the end, I like to add some fresh lime juice, which wakes up all of the flavors, and some chopped fresh cilantro.
Recipe Tips
Many recipes will instruct you to toast the chiles first, but I think this is a personal preference. I tested versions with toasted and not-toasted chiles, and there wasn’t much difference. It’s an added step that I don’t think is absolutely necessary.
You can make it ahead and store it in the refrigerator. The flavors will be even better! Plan to serve it within a few days of making it. You can also freeze it for several months.
You can serve it in several different ways. Ladle it into bowls and top it with your favorite toppings. Use it to make tacos with flour tortillas, serve it over rice or potatoes, or use it to make Frito pies. I love the leftovers with a runny-yolk fried egg on top, or use them to make nachos.
More Chili Recipe
Chile Colorado
Chile colorado is a simple chili dish made with pork, dried chile and a few other simple ingredients that simmer together until the pork is tender. You can make it mild or hot depending on the type of chiles you use and it’s delicious served over rice or with tortillas.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 8 dried mild red chiles (see note)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 lbs pork shoulder or pork butt
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Juice of one lime
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Remove stems and seeds from the chiles. I like to do this in a bowl to catch all of the seeds. Place the chile pepper pieces in a bowl or baking dish and cover them with water. Soak the chiles for 30 minutes.
- While the chiles are soaking, prepare the pork. First, cut it into 1 to 2-inch pieces, trimming the excess fat as you go. Season the pieces with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Brown the pork pieces in a few batches, turning them once. Once the last batch is browned, place all of the browned pork back into the pan. Adjust the heat to low while you make the sauce.
- Place the softened chile peppers plus 1 cup of water in a blender or food processor. Add the onion, garlic, half a teaspoon of salt, oregano, and cumin. Puree the peppers until smooth.
- Strain the pepper puree through a fine mesh sieve into the pan with the pork. Press on the puree to extract as much of the sauce as possible. This will ensure there are no little bits of peppers or seeds in the chile.
- Stir to coat the pork in the chile sauce. Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Turn the heat to high and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a strong simmer and simmer the chile for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. It’s ready once the pork is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Just before serving, add the black pepper and lime juice and stir. Garnish the chile with the cilantro.
Notes
Depending on your heat tolerance, you can switch up the dried chiles and use spicier ones if you prefer. Or, use a combination of different dried chiles (like guajillo chiles and ancho chiles) to give it your own personal spin.
Make ahead: You can make this whole dish ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. It will keep well for several days. You can also make the chile sauce ahead and refrigerate it until you’re ready to cook it with the pork.
Freezer Tip: You can also freeze it! Store it in freezer-safe containers, and it should keep well for several months.
I love this chile in a bowl with toppings like sour cream, avocado, cheese, and crushed chips. It’s great served over rice or with tortillas, especially if you add a fried runny yolk egg on top.
Recipe adapted from Rick Bayless
Nutrition
- Calories: 548
- Sugar: 2.3g
- Sodium: 638.5mg
- Fat: 21.6g
- Saturated Fat: 11.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 7.9g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 77.7g
- Cholesterol: 216.5mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Favorite Fall Recipes
Try this chile colorado the next time you’re craving a cozy dinner. It’s so delicious – I hope you love it as much as I do ❤️
Happy simmering!
I’m excited to try this recipe! Could you make just the sauce before hand and refrigerate it until you use it with the pork?
Yes, you can make the sauce ahead to use later 🙂 Hope you give it a try!
By the way, Colorado is also a spwnish word. Like many states in the US, they have spanish names cause it use to governed by Spain then by France. So there were many Hispanics or Catholic missions. Like Florida, California, Texas (Tejas), Colorado, Nevada, to name a few. Some cities have Spanish names too. But Colorado means Red or Colored Red. Since the Chili is a red sauce base it’s a Colorado Chili, not because it’s from the state Colorado. You can find this chili in Mexican restaurants named Chili Colorado 😊
Hi Lori! I actually talk about that in the post! “Some people call it “chili colorado” some people call it “chile colorado” and some people call it “Colorado chili” having mistakenly thought it’s a type of chili indigenous to the state of Colorado when, in fact, it is a type of pork chile from our friends in Mexico.”
Can I use chili peppers in adobo sauce instead of the dried peppers?
I’m not sure how that would work – you would need a lot of them plus the sauce so the chili would be really spicy and smoky flavored. I can’t really give good advice on it, but let me know if you try it!
That was a very tasty meal! I used a combination of ancho, California and guajillo chiles for the sauce. I also added 2-3 dried cayenne chiles for heat. The combination of spices and the fat from the pork cooked down into a wonderfully flavorful concoction. The pork was so tender and full of flavor. The lime juice at the end really adds to the flavor as well. Excellent dish!
So glad you liked it!
Hello,
What kind of mild chile did you use?
There are several, but Badia is a brand I’ve used in this recipe – it’s their New Mexico dried red chiles.
Wow! Of all the chili/Chile dishes I’ve had, this was by far the best in terms of flavor. It also was easy to make. I foresee eating this a lot in the future!
My husband is raving about this dish, it is delicious! I like that the heat level can be controlled and the flavor is full with a bit of heat. We ate it over rice tonight but we will have it with tortillas tomorrow. We will definitely be saving this recipe.
So glad you both loved it!